T-Mobile G2 Announced, Detailed

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The mysterious HSPA+ phone that T-Mobile had been teasing is now official. No surprise here, but it’s the phone that we’d seen pictured and is better known in European rumors as the HTC Desire Z. They’re dubbing it the T-Mobile G2 and they’re marketing it as a proper iteration of the T-Mobile G1. But, can it keep anybodies interest in the new world of smartphones?

The specs are what we’ve been hearing about the G2 and Desire Z. No big surprises here.

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 800MHz Processor (the fact it’s not 1GHz is both shocking and disappointing)
• Android 2.2
• 5MP Camera with 720p recording
• Pre-installed 8GB microSD card w/ 4GB of ROM memory
• 3.7-inch screen
• Swype pre-installed
• Full 7.2 HSPA+ connectivity
• etc etc

Early leaks from Wal-Mart.com and other places had pinned the phone as shipping with a 1GHz processor. It was broken by Engadget a few days ago that it would come with the slower 800MHz processor, which is a big disappointment. We had really hoped that this phone would be T-Mobile’s entry into the latest superphone race (EVO 4G, Droid X, etc.) and not only is it lacking a huge screen, but it’s desiviely underpowered.

Don’t get us wrong – the Snapdragon is a powerful chip that’s not only complimented by it’s core but other graphics-related system-on-a-chip stuff as well. But, 1GHz is the standard for Android phones in 2010, and that’s all we have to say about that.

Remember this phone is the first to be fully HSPA+ compatible. If you haven’t been following our coverage on it, T-Mobile US is going with a 3.5G HSPA+ network instead of a 4G network (for now). They’re quickly and easily upgrading their 3G network via firmware updates to support HSPA+ and you can expect theoretical speeds of 7.2MB/s. That’s faster than current real world speeds of Sprint’s 4G network, but as with anything, your results may vary.

What do you think about the T-Mobile G2? Slam dunk for Tmo or big disappointment? Tell us about it in the comments section.